Safety pin assembly

ABSTRACT

A safety pin system for bomb racks including a pair of spring releasable pin lock and retraction assemblies interconnected via a load dividing pulley reciprocated by a push-pull cable operated by a single release latch with a contoured flag visible when the pins are lockable in the inserted position.

United States Patent [191 Halpern et al.

[ 1 June 12, 1973 SAFETY PIN ASSEMBLY [75] Inventors: William J.Halpern,Langhome; Carl A. Damm, both of Upper Black Eddy, Pa.

[73] Assignee: The United States of America as represented by theSecretary 01 the Navy, Washington, D.C.

22 Filed: May 12, 1911 211 Appl.No.: 142,655

[52] US. Cl. 89/l.5 D, 89/1.812 [51] Int. Cl 864d 1/04 [58] Field ofSearch 89/15; 294/83, 137;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,966,826 1/1961 Cerny89/1.5 R

11/1921 Weed 89/1.5 H

1,385,598 7/1921 Weed 89/1.5 D 3,266,834 8/1966 Lebguitz 89/15 R PrimaryExaminer-Samuel W. Engle Att0rneyR. S. Sciascia and Henry Hansen [57]ABSTRACT A safety pin system for bomb racks including a pair of springreleasable pin lock and retraction assemblies interconnected via a loaddividing pulley reciprocated by a push-pull cable operated by a singlerelease latch with a contoured flag visible when the pins are lockablein the inserted position.

9 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENIEB 3.738.222

MU 1 0F 3 INVENTORS I 5 WILLIAM J. HALPERN CARL A. DAMN BY ATTORNEYSSAFETY PIN ASSEMBLY STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST The inventiondescribed herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Governmentof the United States of America for governmental purposes without thepayment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates generally to the fieldof aircraft store ejector ordnance drop racks, and more particularly toimproved systems for manipulating safety pins which prevent prematurerelease of ordnance stores from such racks.

In the past, safety pins for locking bomb rack release mechanisms wereinserted and removed manually by ground crews. Navy regulations, forexample, require that the safety pins be in place while the aircraft ison the flight deck after the bombs are loaded. Before flight, however,the pins must be removed so that during flight the pilot may release thebombs at will or in case of an emergency. The separate pins carrybrightly colored warning flags to identify the pin sizes and remindordnance men to remove the pins from the racks before take-off. Althoughthey have been regularly used for many years, the individual,hand-carried safety pins have a long list of drawbacks. For example, theholes for the pins vary in'diameter among different bomb racks. Withapproximately one hundred known safety pins of varying diameters andlengths currently in use for armament applications, identification ofthe right pin for a particular rack is difficult. Since the pins areloose, they have to be stored somewhere when removed, and inevitablypins are lost or bent during handling' and storage. The worst feature ofthe old safety pins is the need for individual insertion and removalduring multiple bomb loadings. For example, a bomb rack carrying twoclusters of three bombs requires 12 individual safety pins. Thus duringloading and flight preparation, ordnance men must locate 12 pins for therack, insert them individually and later remove them individually. Incertain aircraft loadings an ordnance man has had to remove and carryaway 68 safety pins, just from one airplane. Loose pins which aredropped accidentally on the deck can be sucked up by a jet engine. Thesame thing can happen to an inserted pin because the flag provides asurface on which the jet suction can work to free the pin, thusun-safing the bomb rack prematurely.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the general purpose of theinvention is loose safety pins. A further object of the invention is toprovide a single unremovable warming flag to replace the individualflags formerly present on'each safety pin.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved and the defectsof-the prior art overcome by mounting a spring releasable pinassembly ateach safety pin sta- 7 tion. Each pair of pin assemblies isinterconnected via a load dividing pulley and operated by a push-pullcable reciprocated by an aircraft flush latch bearing a conassembliescan be inserted by means of separate pushbuttons. When the latch handleis pushed down in flush locking position, all of the safety pins areautomatically released.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of abomb rack having safety pin assemblies according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the safety pin systemfor the bomb rack of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of one of the pin assemblies takenalong lines 33 in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 44 in the directionof the arrows in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the bomb rack showingthe release latch taken along lines 5-5 in the direction of the arrowsin FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the release latch taken along lines6-6 in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7a is a cross-sectional view permitting a side view of the elementsof the release latch taken along lines 7a7a in the direction of thearrows in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 7b is a view similar to that of FIG. 7a showing the release latchin the open condition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1 of thedrawings, a typical bomb 10 is suspended by means of release hooks 14and 15 from a bomb standard rack 12 carried by a bomb rack support 13secured to the underside of an aircraft wing 11. It will be understoodthat several racks 12 may be carried by a single support 13. To preventpremature release of bomb 10 while the aircraft is on the ground ordeck, holes (not shown) are provided in rack 12 through which safetypins may be inserted to lock the release hooks l4 and 15. The safetypins are carried by spring-loaded pin assemblies 16 and 17 (FIG. 2)activated by a release latch mechanism 20 located on the forward end ofsupport 13.

Referring to FIG. 3 for the details of pin assembly 16, identical toassembly 17, a body formed of high impact plastic or other suitablematerial is formed with a neck portion 25 slidably receiving apushbutton 23 having a collar which fits around metal safety pin 41secured to button 23 at the top by means of a screw 21. Along the shaftof pin 41 there is an annular detent notch portion 42 of reduceddiameter. Button 23 carrying pin 41 is urged outwardly (upward in FIG.3) by axial spring 45 seated against a ring collar 43 slidably receivingpin 41. Neck portion 25 and button 23 have interlocking rims acting as alimit stop; A sliding detent bar 47 is disposed transversely to pin 41in the body of assembly 16. Referring to FIG. 4, bar 47 has anegg-shaped slot 51 through which pin 41 passes. Slot 51 has a narrow endwhose width corresponds to or approximates the diam eter of notchportion 42. When the portion 42 of pin 41 is aligned with bar 47, bar 47is free to move leftward under the action of a spring 49 therebyengaging notch portion 42 and preventing further movement of pin 41. Theend 48 of bar 47 is connected to an auxiliary release button 35 slidablyreceived in a transverse channel in the body of assembly 16. Spring 49is disposed about bar 47 seated against a spring retaining ring 52 andbearing against the inner surface of button 35. The other end 63 of bar47 is secured in a piston member 61 sliding in the body of assembly 16and having a keyhole slot for receiving the balled end 62 of a steelcable 29. Cable 29 is slidably carried within a fixed conduit 27 havinga flared end retained in the body of assembly 16.

Referring again to FIG. 2 cable 29, common to both pin assemblies 16 and17, is slidably carried in respective conduits 27 and 28. Cable 29 isexposed between the adjacent ends of conduits 27 and 28 and passes overa pulley 32 in a junction assembly 18. Pulley 32 is rotatable about anaxle 33 connected to a yoke 31 which is reciprocated by another cable 30leading through a fixed conduit 19 to release latch mechanism 20.Junction assembly 18 serves to evenly distribute the load from cable 30to pin assemblies 16 and 17. Thus, for each double safety pin rack 12,there would be one junction assembly 18.

In FIG. 5 release latch mechanism 20 is provided by an aircraft-typeflush latch having a release pushbutton 72 and a latch handle 73 with awarning flag 71 affixed thereto. Release assembly 20 may be located atany convenient location. Flag 71 which can have conventional yellow andblack stripes on both sides is shaped to conform with the adjacentcontour of support 13, which in this case is a shallow trough withangled sides.

Referring now to FIGS. 7a and 7b release button 72 is rotatable aboutaxle 78, hung from supports 75 and 76 attached to rack support 13 (FIG.6), and urged in the counterclockwise direction by an appropriate springso that button 72 is normally flush with the adjacent surface of support13. Latch handle 73, rotatable about a supported axle 81, is urged in acounterclockwise direction by suitable spring means. Handle 73 is flushwith rack support 13 when locked down. When pressed downwardly as inFIG. 7a, the beveled end of latch handle 73 strikes the adjacent edge ofbutton 72 and dislocates it until it is free to snap back and engage theend of latch 73. At the opposite end of latch 73, an arm 86 is rotatablyattached at one end by means of pin 88 through handle 73. The other endof arm 86 is pivotally connected by means of a pin 85 to an I-I-shapedcable retainer 77 (FIG. 6) holding the balled end 84 of cable 30. Theother end of cable retainer 77 is pivotally connected to axle 78 so thatwhen handle 73 is released by pressing down on button 72, cable 30,isslackened by the lateral (rightward) movement of balled end 84 in cableretainer 77.

In operation, when the release latch mechanism 20 is closed by pressingdownward on latch handle 73 until locked in place by button 72, cable 30is pulled raising junction assembly 18 which distributes the loadequally between the slider bars 47 in both pin assemblies 16 and 17.This force opposes that of spring 49 and moves or retains slider bar 47in the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 depending on the position of pin41. When latch handle 73 is down, slider bar 47 is not free to move andengage slot 42 on pin 41 even when in alignment therewith. Thus whenhandle 73 is down hindering the full view of flag 71, pin 41 in eitherassembly 16 or 17 cannot be locked in the inserted position. When handle73 is released by pressure on button 72 and moved to the uprightcondition fully exposing flag 71, there is no force opposing that ofspring 49 urging slider bar 47 to left (FIG. 3). Thus when either button23 or 24, on assemblies 16 and 17 respectively, is

pressed in by a ground crewman and notch 42 registers with slot 51 inbar 47, bar 47 clicks into engagement with notch 42 locking pin 41 inthe inserted condition. While latch handle 73 is up, the safety pins ineither assembly 16 or 17 may be independently released by depressingauxiliary release buttons 35 and 36. Pressure on either button 35 or 36will align the larger portion of oblong slot 51 in bar 47 with pin 41freeing pin 41 to move out under the action of axial spring 45. Whenhandle 73 is again pressed downward into locking engagement with button72, any of the safety pins remaining in the inserted condition will bereleased thereby. Thus the appearance of warning flag 71 in the plainlyvisible upright condition indicates that one or all of the safety pinsmay be engaged, although not necessarily due to the auxiliary releasebuttons.

It should be noted that release latch mechanism 20 can be used tooperate several pairs of retraction assemblies 16 and 17 since cableretainer 77 can accommodate a plurality of cables 30. Besides theaircrafttype flush latch 20, other suitable latch or lever devices canbe used to reciprocate cable 30. It is important however that the latchmechanism itself provide a visual indication of the condition of thesafety pins. The latch thus plays both mechanical and visual roles. Itis also important to locate the pivoting end of the latch handle forwardof the free end so that the air stream will tend to keep the latchclosed during flight. It should be noted that other equivalentmechanical or electromechanical means can be used for retractionassemblies 16 and 17 so long as they provide for independent release ofsafety pins.

One of the most important advantages of the disclosed safety pin systemis that it simplifies the bomb loading operation by eliminating the timeconsuming task of hand-inserting and removing numerous safety pinsbefore takeoff. In fact, in the past an airplane on an aircraft carrierhad to taxi to the launching runway with the safety pins already removedsince the removal operation was too time consuming to be performed onthe busy runway. With the new system the safety pins can remain insertedup until the last moment before take-off thus eliminating the risk ofpremature release during taxiing. There are many other strikingadvantages. For example, since the safety pins fly with the bomb rack,the ground crew no longer must spend time selecting pins of the properdiameter and length. Since the holes in bomb rack 12 are always coveredby assemblies l6 and 17, dirt is never allowed to clog the safety pinholes. In the past, with a rack having multiple bombs, it was impossibleto see all of the safety pin locations at once. Therefore, one had towalk around the rack to make sure all the pins were pulled, andoccasionally one of the pins was overlooked. In the new system a singlesafety flag is employed having curved or angled sides depending on theadjacent surface. The flag is thus visible from many different anglesand provides a quick means of visually checking the safety condition ofthe bomb racks. Moreover, due to the mechanical relationship of theparts it is impossible to lock any of the pins in the inserted conditionwithout exposing the flag since it is an integral part of the latchsystem.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials,steps and arrangements of parts, which have been herein described andillustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be madeby those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of theinvention as expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A bomb rack of the type comprising a frame, a plurality of releasehook means movably mounted in said frame, and apertures formed in saidframe for receiving safety pins to lock said release hook means whereinthe improvement comprises:

a plurality of safety pin assemblies mounted on said frame aboutrespective ones of said apertures each including guide means forsupporting one of said safety pins in sliding axial alignment with saidrespective aperture, axial spring means operatively disposed about saidpin for urging said pin out of said aperture, and releasable detentmeans adjacent to said pin and transversely movable from one positionwherein said pin is locked when inserted in said aperture to anotherposition wherein said pin is released; and

a single actuator means carrying a visual warning indicator mounted onsaid frame and operatively connected to said detent means in each pinassembly for movement thereof between said one and the other position.

2. A bomb rack according to claim 1 wherein the improvement furthercomprises:

said actuator means including a latch handle mounted at one end in saidframe for rotation so as to be flush with the adjacent surface of saidframe when in one position; and

said indicator including a color-coded flag-like member affixed to saidhandle and shaped to conform with the contour of said adjacent surfacewhen said handle is in said one position.

3. A bomb rack according to claim 2 wherein the improvement furthercomprises:

said adjacent surface of said frame and said flag-like member havingconforming angled sides.

4. A bomb rack according to claim 2 wherein the improvement furthercomprises.

said actuator means further including a button having a retaining lipportion mounted on said frame adjacent the other end of said handle forurged rotation about an axis substantially parallel to the axis aboutwhich said handle is rotatable so as to be normally flush with theadjacent surface of said frame; and

said other end of said handle being beveled for dislocating and engagingthe retaining lip of said button, said button lip overlapping a portionof said other end of said handle when said handle is in said oneposition.

5. A bomb rack according to claim 2 wherein the improvement furthercomprises:

pulley means having an axle;

a cable connected between respective detent means in a pair of safetypin assemblies and riding over said pulley means; and

another cable operatively connected between said handle and said pulleymeans axle to reciprocate said pulley means thereby evenly distributinga load from said handle to said pair of pin assemblies.

6. A bomb rack according to claim 5 wherein the improvement furthercomprises:

an annular notch of reduced diameter formed along a portion of thelength of each said pin; and

each said detent means including a detent bar having an elongated slotfor receiving said pin with a narrowed end corresponding to said reduceddiameter and mounted for transverse movement relative to said pin fromsaid one position, wherein said pin notch registers with said bar slot,to said other position, and spring means urging said bar to said oneposition.

7. A bomb rack according to claim 6 wherein the improvement furthercomprises:

each said pin assembly including an auxiliary release button connectedto one end of said bar for independently disengaging said bar from saidpin notch to release said pin.

8. A safety pin manipulating and indicating system,

comprising:

a frame;

a plurality of safety pins slidable along their lengths in said frameand moveable from a locked to an unlocked position, each of said pinshaving a reduced cross section along the length thereof;

a plurality of latch means slidable along their lengths normal to saidsafety pins in said frame and moveable from an unlatched to a latchedposition engaging said pins in their locked positions, each of saidlatch means having an opening for receiving said pins therethrough andformed to selectively engage said pins at said reduced cross section inthe latched position;

first and second bias means mounted in said frame for respectivelyurging said pins toward the unlocked position, and said latch meanstoward the latched position; and

control means bearing a visual warning indicator moveable in said framefrom a hidden position to a visible position, and operatively connectedto said latch means for moving said latch means between the latched andunlatched positions;

whereby the visibility of said indicator denotes the locked or unlockedposition of said pins.

9. A system according to claim 8 further comprising:

said visual warning indicator being color-coded and shaped to conform toan adjacent surface of said frame.

1. A bomb rack of the type comprising a frame, a plurality of releasehook means movably mounted in said frame, and apertures formed in saidframe for receiving safety pins to lock said release hook means whereinthe improvement comprises: a plurality of safety pin assemblies mountedon said frame about respective ones of said apertures each includingguide means for supporting one of said safety pins in sliding axialalignment with said respective aperture, axial spring means operativelydisposed about said pin for urging said pin out of said aperture, andreleasable detent means adjacent to said pin and transversely movablefrom one position wherein said pin is locked when inserted in saidaperture to another position wherein said pin is released; and a singleactuator means carrying a visual warning indicator mounted on said frameand operatively connected to said detent means in each pin assembly formovement thereof between said one and the other position.
 2. A bomb rackaccording to claim 1 wherein the improvement further comprises: saidactuator means including a latch handle mounted at one end in said framefor rotation so as to be flush with the adjacent surface of said framewhen in one posiTion; and said indicator including a color-codedflag-like member affixed to said handle and shaped to conform with thecontour of said adjacent surface when said handle is in said oneposition.
 3. A bomb rack according to claim 2 wherein the improvementfurther comprises: said adjacent surface of said frame and saidflag-like member having conforming angled sides.
 4. A bomb rackaccording to claim 2 wherein the improvement further comprises. saidactuator means further including a button having a retaining lip portionmounted on said frame adjacent the other end of said handle for urgedrotation about an axis substantially parallel to the axis about whichsaid handle is rotatable so as to be normally flush with the adjacentsurface of said frame; and said other end of said handle being beveledfor dislocating and engaging the retaining lip of said button, saidbutton lip overlapping a portion of said other end of said handle whensaid handle is in said one position.
 5. A bomb rack according to claim 2wherein the improvement further comprises: pulley means having an axle;a cable connected between respective detent means in a pair of safetypin assemblies and riding over said pulley means; and another cableoperatively connected between said handle and said pulley means axle toreciprocate said pulley means thereby evenly distributing a load fromsaid handle to said pair of pin assemblies.
 6. A bomb rack according toclaim 5 wherein the improvement further comprises: an annular notch ofreduced diameter formed along a portion of the length of each said pin;and each said detent means including a detent bar having an elongatedslot for receiving said pin with a narrowed end corresponding to saidreduced diameter and mounted for transverse movement relative to saidpin from said one position, wherein said pin notch registers with saidbar slot, to said other position, and spring means urging said bar tosaid one position.
 7. A bomb rack according to claim 6 wherein theimprovement further comprises: each said pin assembly including anauxiliary release button connected to one end of said bar forindependently disengaging said bar from said pin notch to release saidpin.
 8. A safety pin manipulating and indicating system, comprising: aframe; a plurality of safety pins slidable along their lengths in saidframe and moveable from a locked to an unlocked position, each of saidpins having a reduced cross section along the length thereof; aplurality of latch means slidable along their lengths normal to saidsafety pins in said frame and moveable from an unlatched to a latchedposition engaging said pins in their locked positions, each of saidlatch means having an opening for receiving said pins therethrough andformed to selectively engage said pins at said reduced cross section inthe latched position; first and second bias means mounted in said framefor respectively urging said pins toward the unlocked position, and saidlatch means toward the latched position; and control means bearing avisual warning indicator moveable in said frame from a hidden positionto a visible position, and operatively connected to said latch means formoving said latch means between the latched and unlatched positions;whereby the visibility of said indicator denotes the locked or unlockedposition of said pins.
 9. A system according to claim 8 furthercomprising: said visual warning indicator being color-coded and shapedto conform to an adjacent surface of said frame.